How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
The Pea looked at Mig. Mig smiled. The knife glinted in the light of the candle. "Mig?" she said, her voice shaking the tiniest bit.
"I really do not think," said Roscuro, "that Mig would need much persuasion to use that knife, Princess. She is a dangerous individual, easily led."
"But we are friends," said the Pea, "aren't we, Mig?" (37.22-24)
Princess Pea appeals to Mig's friendship and loyalty to her, but she's wrong. Mig's going along with Roscuro's plan because he's promised that she'll soon be a princess like she always wanted. Bottom line? Loyalty and selfishness can't really co-exist. Will perfidy triumph?
Quote #8
And so, the small mouse who had been dipped in oil, covered in flour, and relieved of his tail slipped out of the pantry and past the weeping ladies.
He went to find the king. (39.20-21)
Things go from bad to worse for Despereaux, but instead of giving up, he goes to the king in order to fight for the princess. He knows this is risky; the king isn't a rodent fan. But again, the mouse doesn't have a choice. He's pledged to protect Pea.
Quote #9
But you must, when you are calculating the odds of the mouse's success, factor in his love for the princess. Love, as we have already discussed, is a powerful, wonderful, ridiculous thing, capable of moving mountains. And spools of thread. (43.7)
Despereaux may not have size or strength on his side, but his kind of devotion makes everything possible.